It has been more than half a year since Huang Zhongtong accepted Zhao Xin's order and went to West Borneo to collect information about Lanfang Company.

When he left Bacheng with his two subordinates, he did not go directly to Borneo. Instead, he took a boat to Hoi'an, and then took a boat from Hoi'an, and returned to Zhanglin Port in Chenghai before the Lunar New Year. You should know that the hometowns of the three of them are from Fengshun County, Chaozhou Prefecture, and are very close to Dapu County, so they appeared in Zhanglin, and there was no problem in terms of living habits and accents.

Zhanglin, located in the southeast of Chaozhou Prefecture, soon developed into the largest port in eastern Guangdong since the rescinded the Kangxi period. Commercial activities were very prosperous, and there were many people from all over the eastern Guangdong to work. Moreover, every year when the northeast monsoon came, there were countless red-headed boats heading south, which was like a cloud of sails. With these sea trade ships, a large number of poor Hakkas and Chaoshan people joined the immigration tide in Southeast Asia.

In general, there were two main routes to Nanyang during the Qianlong period. Xiamen Port was immigrants from Zhangquan, while Zhanglin Port was full of Chaoshan and Hakka people.

Relying on the relationship between Beihai Town and Hoi'an, Huang Zhongtong and the other two first lived in a sugar house on Xianqiao Street for sex. The fifteenth day of the first lunar month soon passed, and Huang Zhongtong had already taken a snake head to recruit people to West Borneo. In May 1793, that is, the end of the second month of the lunar calendar, the three people carrying a broken bag and carried hundreds of other Chinese from Jiayingzhou and Dapu to board the land of Pontianak.

After spending half a year to build such a big circle, Huang Zhongtong and their identities are no problem. No one can tell that they are actually secret spies sent by Beihai Town.

Zhao Xin wanted to check the situation of Lanfang Company's gold mine, so Huang Zhong and they told Snake Tou from the beginning that they were going to West Borneo to hunt for gold. It was precisely because the three of them were Hakkas and were half a Dapu, so they quickly went to a mining area called Salaman.

The various mining areas under the rule of Lanfang Company are divided into public and private dependents, among which the public dependents adopt the method of renting out. Because of the large amount of money, the Shalaman mining area naturally becomes a private dependent and belongs to Chen Lanbo, the second-in-chief of Lanfang Company.

Chen Lanbo, a Hakka from Tai Po, founded the Lanfang Society with Luo Fangbo sixteen years ago. There is a saying that the word "Lanfang" comes from their name. The first battle between this man and Luo Fangbo started his business was to join the Tiandi Society with the support of the Sultan of Pontianak, and torch the blood of the killings into a river and drive out of Dongwanlu.

As a "new customer" who first arrived at the mine, Huang Zhong and the other three received a monthly salary of two Spanish silver dollars, including food and accommodation. The daily time to go to the mine is from 4 am to 6 pm, and rest for two hours at the hottest time of lunch. In addition, five meals are served every day, brown rice, salted fish are enough.

It sounds like the conditions are very good? You should know that two Spanish silver dollars are equivalent to 1.42 taels of Kuping Silver. Huang Zhong and the other three thought so at first. However, after the first month of hard work, they realized that there were all kinds of "pits".

Speaking of which, the "big brothers" in West Borneo are really thieves, just like the Chinese planters in Batavia. In order to prevent workers from running away after getting their salary, the gold they are mined must be refined annually. Only after the company starts the furnace and refines the annual output will the company settle the payment with the miners in various mines based on the quantity and quality of the output that year. Chinese workers can only get their wages at that time.

But do you think this is over? Not! The means of exploitation are all about one link. As long as Chinese workers cannot pay off their debts, they don’t want to leave and work until they die!

Unlike the Chinese workers who had the dream of "golden mountains" on the other side of the ocean in later generations who were finally sold as "piglets", the Chinese workers in the 18th century were exploited by their own people, and the companies were even better than the greedy capitalists in later generations.

Let’s give an example. Suppose Huang Zhongtong doesn’t drink alcohol, doesn’t drink tea, doesn’t smoke opium; he doesn’t repair his clothes when he torn, and his shoes get barefoot when he’s rotten. The most important thing is that he has never had any illness, so good. After the furnace is opened, he can get at least 24 Spanish silver dollars from the books.

Wait, the ticket price for the boat before you come has not been paid yet! In addition, there are also food, drinks, shops and other miscellaneous fees on the boat, and all have to be calculated. Moreover, when you arrive at the mine, the food fee for five meals a day is all for money, and the accommodation arranged by the mine also requires rent.

Huang Zhongtong found that the price calculation standards given by the company are much higher than the market average price.

So after Bao Duier calculated, three-quarters of his salary was deducted, and Huang Zhongtong could only get 6 silver dollars. In fact, this guy couldn't even get 6 Spanish silver dollars because he had to buy some daily necessities. At this time, those in charge of providing high-priced goods appeared in the company...

"Thank you for a day, do you want to have a few sips?"

"Don't drink well? Then some tobacco leaves? This is the tobacco leaves in Tingzhou, Fujian, no worse than Jianyan from the emperor's tribute. Take a sip and the house is full of fragrance!"

"Don't like smoking? Oh~~ We have a gambling house here. Do you want to play a few games? If you win the bet, you can jump into the dragon gate!"

"Well, I have never seen a guy as contempt as you. Well... I'll tell you this alone, and I don't tell him that most people have "Fu Shou Paste" from India. After finishing work and burning it every day, it will definitely be "comfortable and relieve fatigue", and it can also prevent miasma. To be honest, the miasma in West Borneo is worse than that in Chaoshan. If you fall ill one day and spend a lot of money to take medicine, your life may be difficult to protect..."

Because the mining work in the mining area is extremely hard, many old miners lie in the house after lunch and suck in the clouds and mists; then they stare at each other and sweat "full" again.

Zhao Xin had told Huang Zhongtong about the dangers of opium before, but he didn't quite understand it at that time, but he really felt it in the past two months in the mine.

To put it simply, it is indeed hateful that Europeans sell opium to Southeast Asia and Guangzhou. However, what about the Chinese companies and planters who provide opium to Chinese workers? Without these people, opium would not be popular among the poor at the bottom.

This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content later! Since Huang Zhongtong came to the mine, he not only wanted to curry favor with the foreman and get inside information, but also asked one or two old miners with good relationships to drink and chat to find out more information, so he could only pay advances to the mine.

Just like the plantations on Java Island issued lead coins to Chinese workers, because West Borneo is rich in tin mines, Huang Zhongtong got the tin coins called "Picis".

This kind of money was issued by Lanfang Company itself, and every 40 pieces were exchanged for 1 Spanish silver dollar. The appearance of the coins was the same as the copper coins with Qing Dynasty. The front was the four words "Lanfang Company" and the back was the Manchu text "Baoguang", which meant the Baoguang Bureau of the Ministry of Revenue of the Qing Dynasty. As for why the money of Lanfang Company was printed on Manchu text, it was just like Luo Fangbai asked his "Lanheying" to bravely wear the Qing army's green camp uniform, it was nothing more than pulling a big banner to make tiger skin.

Speaking of which, the Heshun General Office, which is the third-fast, also does the same. The tin coins are minted with "Dagang Company", "Heshun", "Fifteenth Branch", etc.

The issuance of these companies' currencies has certain rules, and coins are usually minted before the Spring Festival. This is also the time when Chinese people celebrate the end of the year and clear their accounts, cash is urgently needed.

Although Huang Zhongtong is smart, he does not understand economics. In fact, this kind of tin coins issued by the "big brother" are an important part of the gold mine exploitation system. With the account book, it constantly exploits Chinese workers' labor income and makes them heavily in debt; on the other hand, it is the wealth of Luo Fangbai and the upper-level figures of Lan Fang Company that are as rich as the country.

In another time and space history, the reason why the Dutch had to extend his hands into Borneo in the later period was another very important contradiction that the Chinese company's coin minting violated the economic interests of the "society country". When the Dutch colonial government launched the "company war" in the mid-19th century, they found that there was no Dutch copper coins circulating in the company's territory.

For veteran colonists like the Netherlands, economic benefits are above everything else, so no one can bear it!

On the contrary, in Bacheng, since Chinese workers were all engaged in technical jobs in the plantation system, the Javanese was the most exploited, which laid the foreshadowing for the Dutch who later instigated the Javanese people.

To put it bluntly, there has never been no hatred in this world for no reason. Even the Dutch are big flies with sharp teeth and sharp mouths, eggs must be stitched before they can be cut.

By the end of the fourth month of the lunar calendar, Huang Zhongtong and the other two, who had been working in the mine for two months, felt that the investigation was almost done and did not want to live such a hard-working life. So they proposed to resign and refused to join the foreman, saying that they would go to Dongwanlu to find fellow villagers.

Unexpectedly, the mine owner took out the account book and rolled up the abacus, sneered and said that it would be fine if he wanted to leave, and each person had to look for three Spanish silver dollars in the mine. Huang Zhongtong's two subordinates were almost angry and wanted to pull out their guns and knock them down immediately.

However, Huang Zhongtong showed the appearance of a wealth-keeping slave that a Chinese worker should have. He slept with the mine owner for a long time, and finally reduced the total to 8 silver dollars and paid five taels, seven cents of silver to make up for it.

After returning to Pontianak, the three people who had been isolated from the world in the mining area learned that the Dutch attacked Bacheng. Unfortunately, because Lanfang Company received a warning from the Dutch, all ships in the Port of Pontianak would not go to Bacheng.

Huang Zhongtong had no choice but to take his men to board a merchant ship to Penang. He planned to go to Georgetton to find Gu Lihuan to see what he could do...

On June 16, 1793, on the thirteenth day after Zhao Xin arrived in Bacheng, the North Navy Front Command, located in "Fort Nordwijk", received a report from the reconnaissance team that had been lurking near Wandong in the early morning. The army led by former VOC Governor Altin had set off from Wandong at 6 am this morning. The total number of soldiers in combat was between 15,000 and 20,000, and there were more than 10,000 baggage troops.

After waiting for so many days, the Dutch's third claw that reached out to Bacheng was finally exposed, so Zhao Xin was also ready to fight.

He had no time to delay. If nothing unexpected happens, the offensive and defensive battle between Britain and France will break out in more than a month. He doesn't care whether the French dies or not, but once the local governance is lost, the road leading to the Beihai Town stronghold "Pazayalai", will be blocked by the British. This is something that Zhao Xin will never accept!

Furthermore, the Northern Navy of Pazayalai only had one company, so Bacheng had to send ground troops and fleets to provide support. To go to India, it would have to pass through the Dutch-controlled archipelago.

After holding a battle analysis meeting with his staff and He Xiwen, Zhao Xin first ordered Wen Dai, who led the reconnaissance team to carry out sniper battles against the enemy's baggage troops, and to destroy the enemy's logistics supplies and supply lines as much as possible. If possible, it would be best to burn the Dutch grain warehouse.

Then, he sent a report to the Nanyang Fleet hidden in Cam Ran Bay, ordering Zheng Wenxian to lead seven sailboats modified from Guangbo to form the first squadron, completely destroy the VOC fleet entrenched in the sea outside Bacheng and the west of Bandang Port, and impose a maritime blockade on Wanbo Port. He ordered Guo Xuexian, who had just arrived in Hoi'an from Naha Port, to go to the Ganlingo Base to complete the supply, and then lead Beihai No. 2, 3 and a Guangbo gunboat to form the second squadron, to go to the Lyune Islands, to shell out the Dutch stronghold in Malacca City, the throat of Malacca, and force the defenders there to surrender, so as to quickly control the Strait of Malacca.

After arranging the combat plan at sea, Zhao Xin held a combat meeting at the Bacheng Military Control Commission that night, attended by all officers at the battalion level or above.

In order to achieve the plan to completely wipe out the Dutch army on the Western Front and the Sultanate Army of Vandan, a staff general Zhao Xin pondered the combat plan for several days and told everyone present.

The entire battle will focus on the Langkasbetong area, concentrate troops from the north and south wings, fight two points first, and then the land war battalion will break through from the northern line, detour to the rear of Langkasbetong, and together with the Sendai vassal minions, divide the enemy troops entrenched between Silang and Langkasbetong into several pieces, and then wipe out one by one. A part of the special combat battalion led by Elu directly attacked Silang, attacking the Dutch transportation lines, and waiting for an opportunity to destroy the materials and grain warehouses located in Silang.

Before the attack was launched, the thirty artillery of the North Navy would provide artillery fire coverage for up to twenty minutes to ensure that the troops on the north and south wings could complete the interlude.

The reason why I dared to plan like this is mainly because the Special Forces Battalion has identified all the terrain and roads in the areas of Langasbetong and Silang over the past year, including where the water source can be drunk, where can the brigade of troops camp, etc.

In addition, the Sendai vassal minions have been training at the Cam Ran Bay base for several months, and have been conducting physical training and combat skills for tropical rainforest areas. Originally, these Sendai soldiers who were born of road construction workers were very hard-working, and they had a good rest during training and had enough medical care, so their combat effectiveness was still good.

After the staff officer finished speaking, Zhao Xin stood up and made a mobilization speech: "The Dutch attempted to siege us and drove the Northern Navy out of Bacheng. Now we are attacked from both sides, and the Western Front is 20,000 enemies, which stick to us every day like dog skin plaster. And the Wandong direction in the southeast also dispatched more than 20,000 enemies to siege Bacheng. At the sea, there are also the Dutch and the fleets of the indigenous Sultans trying to block us."

The officers below looked at Zhao Xin intently, especially the battalion commanders of the minion army. Their eyes were full of excitement and no fear. Without any other, the reputation of King Zhao Palace is so great now. In the eyes of many people, as long as he takes action, there will be no battle that cannot be won.

At this time, Zhao Xin continued to shout loudly: "If you want me to say, what is this? As long as we fight well and fight quickly, we will win, and we will definitely belong to our North Navy!"

"Long live King Zhao's Palace!"

"Long live Beihai Town!"

"Kill the Dutch!"

The officers below could no longer sit still and stood up and shouted. Zhao Xin was also a little excited by the scene in front of him. It is no exaggeration to say that this battle will directly determine the future fate of millions of people in Southeast Asia.

It has been seven years since he explained the importance of the Strait of Malacca to Zheng Qi and others. Until today, Zhao Xin finally saw the dawn of turning opium out of the west of the Strait of Malacca. Of course, he also knew that to achieve this goal, it was far from enough to defeat the Dutch, and the South Asian subcontinent was the main battlefield for the decisive battle!
Chapter completed!